A skink is any of approximately 1,275 lizard species belonging to the family Scincidae. Skinks are mostly secretive ground dwellers or burrowers. They are widespread, but especially diverse in Southeast Asia and its associated islands, the deserts of Australia, and the temperate regions of North America. Skinks’ bodies are typically cylindrical, with cone-shaped heads and long, tapering tails. Most species are less than 20 cm (8 inches) long, but the largest, the prehensile-tailed skink ( Corucia zebrata ), can reach about 76 cm (30 inches). Adaptations of ground-dwelling and burrowing skinks include a transparent scale in place of a movable lower eyelid, reduced or absent limbs, and sunken eardrums. Some species are tree-dwelling or semiaquatic. Skinks eat insects and similar small invertebrates, while larger ones eat fruits. Some lay eggs, but others give birth to fully developed young.

How are skinks different from other lizards?

Skinks, belonging to the family Scincidae, comprise around 1,275 lizard species found worldwide. Most skinks are secretive, ground-dwelling, or burrowing creatures with cylindrical bodies, cone-shaped heads, and long, tapering tails. Key differences between skinks and other lizards: * Eyelids Some skink species have a transparent "window" scale instead of a movable lower eyelid or fixed plates (spectacles) like snake-eyed skinks. * Limbs Certain skinks have reduced or absent limbs. * Habitat While most lizards are active during daylight, skinks are mostly ground dwellers or burrowers, though some can be arboreal or semiaquatic. * Hunting Skinks actively search for prey using their chemosensory system, while many other lizards are "sit-and-wait" predators that use visual cues. * Scales Burrowing skinks have smooth, polished scales for a slippery body surface, while desert-dwelling skinks may have enlarged scales forming spines.

Where do skinks usually live?

Skinks are a diverse group of lizards, with about 1,275 species, found worldwide but especially in Southeast Asia, Australia's deserts, and temperate North America. Most skinks are secretive ground dwellers or burrowers with cylindrical bodies, cone-shaped heads, and long, tapering tails. However, skinks can also be arboreal (tree-dwelling) or semiaquatic. Ground-dwelling and burrowing skinks have adaptations like transparent "window" scales instead of movable lower eyelids to protect their eyes while burrowing. Some skink species live in deserts and can "swim" through sand with specialized scales and body structures that keep sand out of their bodies.

What do skinks eat in the wild?

Skinks are mostly secretive ground dwellers or burrowers that are represented throughout most of the world. Skinks eat insects and similar small invertebrates. However, larger skink species are herbivorous and consume fruits of various kinds. Most lizards, including skinks, spend considerable time obtaining food. Skinks actively search for prey by probing and digging, using their well-developed chemosensory system, as well as visual cues. They grab their prey in their jaws.

How do skinks protect themselves from predators?

Skinks have several adaptations to protect themselves from predators. Like many other lizards, skinks can voluntarily release their tails when seized by a predator. Skinks will move or wave their tails to direct predators away from their bodies. The tails of many species are brightly colored to enhance the distraction effect. Once a predator has grasped its tail, the skink contracts tail muscles, releasing it. The released tail continues to move rapidly, further distracting the predator, allowing the skink to escape. Skinks often return to the area to consume their released tails, regaining some of the lost energy.

How do skinks grow and reproduce?

Skinks exhibit diverse reproductive strategies. While most lay eggs, about a third of skink species, especially those in tropical climates, give birth to live young. Clutch size typically ranges from two to eight eggs, but larger species, such as iguanas, may lay 50 or more eggs at once. In egg-laying skinks, females of some species, like the five-lined skink, stay with their eggs during incubation, protecting and tending to them. In live-bearing skinks, some have developed a complex placenta to transfer nutrients to developing offspring. Skinks use chemical signals for social interactions and finding prey. Sex hormones influence their ability to discriminate these signals and affect their physical characteristics, especially in males during the breeding season.

skink

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Images

Emoia caeruleocauda, the Pacific bluetail skink, with a bright blue tail and striped body, stands on a piece of dark wood with blurred mushrooms in the background.

Broad-headed skink (Plestiodon laticeps).

At a Glance

skink summary

Quick Facts

Related Topics:: sand skink; mabuya; slender skink; striped skink; keeled skink

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skink

lizard

Also known as: Scincidae

Written by

Laurie Vitt

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History

Top Questions

What is a skink?
A skink is any of approximately 1,275 lizard species belonging to the family Scincidae. Skinks are mostly secretive ground dwellers or burrowers. They are widespread, but especially diverse in Southeast Asia and its associated islands, the deserts of Australia, and the temperate regions of North America.

Skinks’ bodies are typically cylindrical, with cone-shaped heads and long, tapering tails. Most species are less than 20 cm (8 inches) long, but the largest, the prehensile-tailed skink ( Corucia zebrata), can reach about 76 cm (30 inches). Adaptations of ground-dwelling and burrowing skinks include a transparent scale in place of a movable lower eyelid, reduced or absent limbs, and sunken eardrums. Some species are tree-dwelling or semiaquatic.

Skinks eat insects and similar small invertebrates, while larger ones eat fruits. Some lay eggs, but others give birth to fully developed young.
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How are skinks different from other lizards?
Skinks, belonging to the family Scincidae, comprise around 1,275 lizard species found worldwide. Most skinks are secretive, ground-dwelling, or burrowing creatures with cylindrical bodies, cone-shaped heads, and long, tapering tails.

Key differences between skinks and other lizards:
* Eyelids Some skink species have a transparent "window" scale instead of a movable lower eyelid or fixed plates (spectacles) like snake-eyed skinks.
* Limbs Certain skinks have reduced or absent limbs.
* Habitat While most lizards are active during daylight, skinks are mostly ground dwellers or burrowers, though some can be arboreal or semiaquatic.
* Hunting Skinks actively search for prey using their chemosensory system, while many other lizards are "sit-and-wait" predators that use visual cues.
* Scales Burrowing skinks have smooth, polished scales for a slippery body surface, while desert-dwelling skinks may have enlarged scales forming spines.
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Where do skinks usually live?
Skinks are a diverse group of lizards, with about 1,275 species, found worldwide but especially in Southeast Asia, Australia's deserts, and temperate North America. Most skinks are secretive ground dwellers or burrowers with cylindrical bodies, cone-shaped heads, and long, tapering tails.

However, skinks can also be arboreal (tree-dwelling) or semiaquatic. Ground-dwelling and burrowing skinks have adaptations like transparent "window" scales instead of movable lower eyelids to protect their eyes while burrowing. Some skink species live in deserts and can "swim" through sand with specialized scales and body structures that keep sand out of their bodies.
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1. reptile: Asia
2. skink
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What do skinks eat in the wild?
Skinks are mostly secretive ground dwellers or burrowers that are represented throughout most of the world. Skinks eat insects and similar small invertebrates. However, larger skink species are herbivorous and consume fruits of various kinds.

Most lizards, including skinks, spend considerable time obtaining food. Skinks actively search for prey by probing and digging, using their well-developed chemosensory system, as well as visual cues. They grab their prey in their jaws.
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1. lizard: Feeding habits
2. skink
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How do skinks protect themselves from predators?
Skinks have several adaptations to protect themselves from predators. Like many other lizards, skinks can voluntarily release their tails when seized by a predator. Skinks will move or wave their tails to direct predators away from their bodies. The tails of many species are brightly colored to enhance the distraction effect. Once a predator has grasped its tail, the skink contracts tail muscles, releasing it. The released tail continues to move rapidly, further distracting the predator, allowing the skink to escape. Skinks often return to the area to consume their released tails, regaining some of the lost energy.
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How do skinks grow and reproduce?
Skinks exhibit diverse reproductive strategies. While most lay eggs, about a third of skink species, especially those in tropical climates, give birth to live young. Clutch size typically ranges from two to eight eggs, but larger species, such as iguanas, may lay 50 or more eggs at once.

In egg-laying skinks, females of some species, like the five-lined skink, stay with their eggs during incubation, protecting and tending to them. In live-bearing skinks, some have developed a complex placenta to transfer nutrients to developing offspring.

Skinks use chemical signals for social interactions and finding prey. Sex hormones influence their ability to discriminate these signals and affect their physical characteristics, especially in males during the breeding season.
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Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

skink, (family Scincidae), any of about 1,275 species of lizards, mostly secretive ground dwellers or burrowers, that are represented throughout most of the world but are especially diverse in Southeast Asia and its associated islands, the deserts of Australia, and the temperate regions of North America. The bodies of skinks are typically cylindrical in cross section, and most species have cone-shaped heads and long, tapering tails. The largest species, the prehensile-tailed skink (Corucia zebrata), reaches a maximum length of about 76 cm (30 inches), but most species are less than 20 cm (8 inches) long. Ground-dwelling and burrowing skinks may show such adaptations as a transparent “window” scale in place of a movable lower eyelid. This adaptation allows the animal to see and protect its eyes from rough particles while burrowing. Other species of skinks may have such peculiarities as reduced or absent limbs and sunken eardrums. Some species are arboreal (tree-dwelling), and others are semiaquatic. Skinks eat insects and similar small invertebrates; large species are herbivorous and consume fruits of various kinds. Some species lay eggs, while others give birth to fully developed young.

Some of the more common genera are described below. Keeled skinks (Tropidophorus), which are semiaquatic, are found from Southeast Asia to northern Australia. Mabuyas (Mabuya), with about 105 species, are ground dwellers and are distributed worldwide in the tropics. Sand skinks (Scincus), also called sandfish, run across and “swim” through windblown sand aided by fringes of scales on their toes. Their countersunk lower jaw, scales that partially cover the ear openings, specialized nasal openings, and fringes on the eyelids allow them to move through sand without it entering their bodies. Sand skinks are native to the deserts of North Africa and southern Asia.

Slender skinks (Lygosoma and many other genera), snake-eyed skinks (Ablepharus and Cryptoblepharus), and skinks of the genus Plestiodon (formerly Eumeces) are also common. Slender skinks are found throughout the Old World tropics, with a few species in the New World. They have thick tails and reduced legs, and their eyelids are often partially transparent. Snake-eyed skinks are extremely variable in colour and are the only skinks with a fixed plate (spectacle) on their eyes instead of a movable eyelid. Excluding South America, Cryptoblepharus has a nearly worldwide distribution in the tropics, partially because it has either rafted on debris to islands or has been introduced to many islands by humans. Most of the approximately 41 species from the genus Plestiodon have longitudinal stripes, although some, such as the Great Plains skink (P. obsoletus), have no stripes at all. In many of the striped skinks, such as the five-lined skink (P. fasciatus) and the broad-headed skink (P. laticeps), stripes fade after the skinks reach sexual maturity. Plestiodon is the dominant genus of skink in north temperate regions of the New World as well as Japan and surrounding areas; however, they are absent from Europe.

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The broad-headed skink and, to a lesser degree, the five-lined skink have become model organisms for the study of behavioral ecology. As a result, both species have contributed greatly to the understanding of how lizards operate in the natural world. Skinks are part of a group of lizards that use chemical signals in social interactions and in finding prey. Their ability to discriminate chemical signals is influenced by sex hormones, and the same hormones influence some aspects of their morphology, particularly in males. During the breeding season, when levels of the male sex hormone testosterone are high, the heads of males become red in colour and muscles in the head increase slightly in size. Males become aggressive toward other males, and they pursue females in an attempt to mate with them. Males can discriminate between sexes based on the chemical signals they pick up on their tongues and deposit in a highly receptive sensory organ called the Jacobson’s organ (or vomeronasal organ) located in the roof of the mouth. This organ transmits signals to the lizard’s brain. Males can also distinguish between sexually receptive and nonreceptive females using this system. During the nonbreeding season when sex hormone levels are low, males are not aggressive toward other males and do not attempt to mate with females, and their heads are a dull brown colour. Sexual selection has favoured males with these traits, resulting in considerable differences between the sexes (sexual dimorphism).

Five-lined skinks and slender skinks have also been used in studies of tail loss as an antipredator mechanism. Like many other lizards, skinks can voluntarily release the tail when it is seized by a predator. Skinks often move or wave their tails in order to direct predators away from their bodies. Tails of many species are brightly coloured, enhancing the distraction effect. Once a predator has grasped the tail, the skink contracts tail muscles and the tail is released. Energy stored in the tail is used to fuel rapid thrashing movements by the released tail, which further distracts the predator. The skink then walks away from the predation attempt. Tails are usually regenerated so that any other functions of the tail are regained. In some skinks, the lost tail itself has a high probability of escaping from the predator due to its violent thrashing. Five-lined skinks and slender skinks often return to the area and consume their released tails, thus regaining some of the lost energy.

Skinks have also contributed greatly to the understanding of reptile reproduction. Although most skink species deposit their eggs in nests and then abandon them, many are live-bearers (viviparous). Among the live-bearing species are some that have developed a complex placenta for transferring nutrients directly to the developing offspring. In one skink, the South American species M. heathi, the placenta is as developed and complex as that found in mammals.

Laurie Vitt

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